


Sugar: I'll Take Two

by WolfyWordWeaver



Series: Sugar [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Arguing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Mild Language, Multi, Polyamory Negotiations, Slice of Life, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:34:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23137759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfyWordWeaver/pseuds/WolfyWordWeaver
Summary: Remus really wants to make his love for Nymphadora and Sirius work but can all three of them maneuver the complexities of arranging a polyamorous relationship? Will the hurts from infidelity be too much?
Relationships: Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Series: Sugar [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1663156
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	Sugar: I'll Take Two

Remus tried not to pay attention to the way that Sirius nibbled on his plump lower lip, teeth worrying over the still painted flesh. His collar was already feeling a bit tight and that was definitely not conducive to the conversation that was going to be had. His hazel eyes glanced over nervously at his wife as she continued to measure up the young man who was apparently a second cousin of hers. Ridiculous, really. How had he managed to make lovers of two related people by accident?

"Nymphadora," Remus pressed quietly, trying to remind her that he hadn't brought Sirius here to be dissected by her.

She shook herself out of the critical examination and tried to smile but it wasn't particularly effective as Sirius was still staring at his painted nails. He had already chipped away most of the polish on his left thumb in nervous agitation. Those familiar brown eyes glanced at him and Remus again felt the uncomfortable position of being the only link between these two people who really hadn't been too keen on being a part of each other's lives. They had all said their polite hellos and were now seated at the kitchen table of his house. Teddy was still with his grandparents.

"Okay, we all know what we're here to discuss," he tried again, speaking to both of them. "So, can we talk about it?"

Sirius finally looked up and Remus gave him a warm smile. The poor boy had been caught unawares about the whole situation and hadn't really had a chance to process things. It had been a miracle that he had even agreed to come with Remus before he had even had a chance to set his book bag down. 

"I'm obviously okay with how the arrangement was," he spoke softly but clearly. No wavering words and Remus felt a swell of pride. 

"Well, I _wasn't_ ," Nymphadora shot back and Remus winced as he was reminded that he had been _cheating_ on her. 

"If you're looking for an apology from me," Sirius sneered, "then you'll be waiting a long while, sweet cheeks."

The woman looked livid and as if she was seriously contemplating throwing projectiles at the young man, and Remus knew he had to intervene. He hadn't really considered their shared blood and lack of patience being an issue that he would have to deal with in this conversation. How silly of him.

"Sirius shouldn't have to apologize," he jumped in. "I already did." He turned his glance to the haughty boy and spoke sternly. "It was wrong of me to hide this behind Nymphadora's back, and that's why we're here now. She's being exceedingly gracious in having this conversation to negotiate a better arrangement."

Grey eyes met with brown and they stared each other down. "What exactly does _Nymphadora_ want then? As a better arrangement?"

"Don't call me that!" she hissed angrily through her teeth. 

Sirius threw up his hands in exasperation. "Then what should I call you?! Fucking hell."

"Nymphadora," Remus tried to explain but she just waved him off. Sirius hadn't known that she wasn't too big on her given name since that was the only thing he ever called her.

"Tonks. You can call me Tonks. And I'll refrain from calling you a cheap trash homewrecker."

Now Remus was moving past frustrated into the angry zone. "Nymphadora!" he shouted, a tone that he almost _never_ used. Both of them froze and stared at him immediately. "Don't you ever say that about him again," he warned in a snarl. "You can say whatever you want about me. I deserve it. But I won't tolerate a word against him." With a pointed look to Sirius he continued. "And I don't want to hear a word against my wife. You've never spoken ill of her before and I'll expect that to continue. Understood?"

It was almost unnoticeable, but Remus could see Sirius' eyes dilate wider than usual and his throat bobbed with a thick swallow before he nodded. Seeing that hint of lusty glaze in his eyes almost sent Remus' brain whirling into overdrive but he pressed that down and away for now. He knew that Sirius showed an enjoyment of rougher treatment in their bed, but he had never seen his reaction to such a stern voice and it made his gut clench in anticipation. He wanted to see how else Sirius would react if his words continued in that firm tone, ordering him to his knees.

"I'm sorry." Remus looked up in surprise, having almost forgotten that Nymphadora was there too. She did look remorseful and almost...respectful? It really was rare for Remus to lift his voice much less take such firm control of a situation. "I...this is hard." Her eyes went back to Sirius and he was back to looking calm, if just a bit anxious.

"I don't know if this helps any," Sirius responded as he picked at his nail polish again, "but I have no intention of making Remus leave you and your son. You guys are his family too, and I know that he loves you."

Those words were a soothing balm, and Remus found himself automatically reaching out to take a hold of both of their hands. "I do love you both," he stated emphatically, eyes going between the both of them. "I consider you both my family and I want to cherish and protect all of you."

Tonks gave his hand a squeeze and she looked back to Sirius. "I'm...I can be really difficult, okay? I know that. And I'm still really hurt." Her eyes were wet with tears that wouldn't fall. "But I want to try this. It's going to be an adjustment for all of us, and maybe if we go into it knowing that we're not going to have it all figured out here today it'll be easier."

Feeling like they had successfully gotten over the first bump in the road, Remus pulled his hands back and fiddled with the small notebook in front of him that he had used for notes when he had looked up advice on moving forward with polyamorous relationships. 

"I think the first thing we need to agree with is no more secrecy," he stated and saw two nods. There was a look of relief in Sirius' eyes that he hadn't expected. He had never gotten the impression that Sirius cared if he was a secret or not.

"I want to know if he's with you," Tonks spoke up. "I need to know that when he says he's at work he's actually working. If he's going on a date with you, I need to know that. It's about building the trust up again."

"Okay," Sirius agreed. "He's always been open about telling me when he's with you all, so that's all the same on my end."

"Um," Remus started as he stared at the second point, "there's the issue of living arrangements." Nymphadora paled a little and he quickly shook his head. "N-not that I'm saying Sirius should move in with us right now!"

"I don't think that I'd want to right now anyway," Sirius added softly. "I'm taking care of Minnie and I like having my own space."

"Yeah, I think we need the space," she agreed and Remus nodded. 

"We just needed to be in agreement," he responded almost apologetically. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to make anyone uncomfortable."

"I think that we need to talk about Teddy," Tonks stated before he could move on with point three.

Swallowing thickly he nodded. "Uh, well, a lot of the things that I was reading in my research stated that it would be beneficial for Teddy to figure out how best to address Sirius as he grows older and to be the one to decide how much he wants to be involved with him."

"We still need to decide how he's going to address Sirius for now. He needs to have an age-appropriate understanding of the situation," Tonks stated. "I don't want to lie to him and say that Sirius is just a random friend."

"I'm technically a cousin," Sirius responded with a shrug. "He could call me cousin or uncle. Better than 'Daddy's boyfriend' at least."

Remus wrinkled his nose. "He doesn't call me 'daddy' at all, Sirius. That's only for..." He paused in embarrassment and wondered if talking about sexual proclivities between them was a no-no.

Nymphadora actually burst out laughing and shook her head. "Really, Remus?"

"I..." He just turned red and Sirius looked slightly less embarrassed. They had been toying with the Daddy kink recently, an offshoot of Sirius always calling him Sugar Daddy.

"What does he refer to you as?" Sirius asked, awkwardly trying to move the conversation along.

"He calls Remus 'Da' because I refused to teach my toddler to say 'Father' like we're in the fuckin' Catholic church."

"I'm not even Irish," Remus grumbled before getting back into the original thread of thought. "If we're going to try to explain things to Teddy we also need to know what we're going to say to your family, Nymphadora."

Sirius shrugged again. "I'm not in contact with my family, so I guess it's just yours that we have to worry about. Do you have any siblings, Tonks?"

"No, it's just me and my parents."

"This bring up something, though," Remus added with a wince. "Love, I know that you have a close relationship with your mother, but I don't know that I'm comfortable with you sharing all this with her right now. Even if we decide to share the polyamorous relationship later, I still don't want her hearing about the details."

Nymphadora looked surprised. "Do you feel like I tell her everything?"

"Your dad has asked me more personal questions than I've cared to respond to about rather private things and I know that he hears things from your mother." From the corner of his eye he could see Sirius looking surprised that anyone would want to talk to their parents about anything personal at all. "Like that fiasco after our honeymoon."

"Oh well, I don't _always_ tell her everything," she tried to defend. 

Remus just stared at her. "Nymphadora. Please."

"Well you never said anything about it!" she shot back in aggravation. "Does it bother you now because of Sirius?"

Sirius bit down on his lower lip to cut off his snarky response and just sat back to let Remus handle it. He didn't need to get involved in this discussion. 

"I don't like people outside of my immediate family knowing my private business," Remus stated firmly, but not unkindly. "I know that I haven't been great about explaining things like that, but I'm going to be getting better. And I'd rather not have your parents hear all the ups and downs as we figure things out with the three of us."

Looking up as she processed the words, Tonks nodded slowly. "Yeah...Dad's not the best at letting go of things. He's still pissed off about you almost ditching me after I got pregnant."

Remus blushed as he saw Sirius look over at him in surprise. He hadn't felt the need to share that incident with Sirius.

"Anyway, it's just something that we need to be mindful of moving forward," he pressed on. "I'm sure that you're going to be learning about a lot of personal things about me and Sirius and I would like it to stay personal. We're still figuring things out between the two of us. It would be unproductive to have even more people and their drama adding to this situation."

"I understand," she relented. "I'll try my best, Remus. And Sirius. I'm not going to try to put a wedge between you two. Not now that I've already agreed to give this a shot."

Sirius smiled softly and nodded, but Remus could still see a hint of some unease behind his eyes.

"Sirius?" The younger man looked between them and just shook his head. "Come on," he urged softly, "we need to communicate if we're going to work things out." He reached out and took one of Sirius' hands in both of his. "It's okay, love. Just tell me."

"I just..are you embarrassed of me?" His words were spoken softly but with an uneasy earnestness. 

"Not at all!" Remus denied vehemently. 

"It's okay if you are," Sirius pressed. "I'd understand. I mean, I'm just...me." 

He gestured to himself - the lipstick, leather jacket, tight jeans. Those silver eyes betrayed his insecurity. Their first meeting had been accidentally stumbling into the scene of Sirius get face-fucked by a nameless Joe in an alley, after all. Their whole relationship started with the transaction of sex for food and a place to stay.

Shooting Nymphadora a quick glance, he turned his attention back to the young man. "We're doing this because I love you too and I want you in our lives. I love you just the way you are."

Tonks watched, utterly shocked at how easily Remus could say those words to his boyfriend. It had taken them all the way up to their wedding for Remus to blushingly stumble over saying he loved her. She wouldn't lie to herself and deny that it plucked at her insecurities. Remus was very different with Sirius than he had been with her. She had barely known about "them" for a day and yet she could see the vast differences in the relationships they held and her relationship with her husband. 

Remus was continuing. "It's not that I care if others know so much as I just don't want other people's input while we work things out. I don't want Teddy to feel like he needs to be embarrassed of or for his father. I don't want Nymphadora to be suffering with other people's thoughts and opinions. If and when we decide to share our polyamorous relationship to others in general, it will be as a strong unit. Where we are all in a place that the opinions and words of others won't matter."

Fingers used to being curled over a keyboard twisted into the dark black locks and gave a teasing tug which brought a smile to Sirius' lips. "Okay," he replied. Looking up to Tonks he nodded. "I really don't know anything about kids, so I don't intend to try to butt in with how you guys are raising Teddy. I'd like for him to know that I love his dad like you do, but I don't really know how you both want to handle that."

"For his sake, I think that we should wait on saying anything along the lines of his Da having a boyfriend for a few months," she sighed as she rolled her shoulders. It had been a long and emotionally exhausting day. "I want us to work out things first, to know that we're really going to be doing this for the long term before we put something like that in his head. If things don't work, I don't want that separation to be on him as well."

"What about our summer trip?" Remus suggested. "We've been talking about going to Disney World this coming summer and that's still about three months away. Sirius could come with us during the trip and we'd get a chance to explain things and answer his questions."

She looked thoughtful and Remus tried to push away his anxiety. He didn't want to think too long on "if things don't work out." For the first time in a really long while he was feeling less like an outsider looking in at the world that kept passing by. Sirius completed him in ways that he hadn't even known he was missing and as counter intuitive as it seemed, the young man's presence in his life had only made him love and appreciate Nymphadora more. Only his fear of rocking the boat had kept him from bring up the polyamorous relationship to her sooner, and now that they were all seated and discussing things he felt foolish. If he had brought this to her attention six months ago, they could have avoided so many hurts and could already be settled into a normal routine.

"Okay, let's shoot for the Disney trip," Nymphadora agreed with another nod. "We can just say that Sirius is a cousin if Teddy sees him until then."

Looking back down at his notes, Remus brought up a topic that he was a bit unsure how his wife would want to deal with. "We need to come to an agreement on how I'll be spending my time. My research indicates that it would be a bad idea for me to just go back and forth on my own whims. And I want to take your thoughts and feelings into consideration, of course."

"I want you to stay the nights here," she immediately responded and Sirius made a choked off noise of protest. "I'm sorry, but I really don't want you spending the nights away right now."

"But he's got work during the day!" Sirius protested. "And I'm in classes! It's been a couple of weeks since I've seen him, as is!"

"I'm not trying to be a bitch," she responded wearily, "but I think that Remus and I need some time to figure things out. And I need him home for that to happen."

"So you don't want him visiting me at all?" Sirius growled angrily. "Then why the fuck say you agreed to all this?!"

"Look, I _am_ trying and I will but right now I need some time with Remus. This isn't a fucking forever arrangement but I think that as I've been with him first and for almost a decade before you came into the picture I deserve some damned time!"

Remus stared down at his carefully written notes. He didn't want to see the hurt expression on Sirius' face or the anxious one on Nymphadora's. This was all his fault for not being honest from the get-go. 

The silence was deafening and he knew that he had to be the one to say something. "This isn't a competition," he finally muttered, eyes still firmly set on the paper in front of him. "It's not a matter of who I've been with longer. I love you both and I want to take care of both of you." He finally looked up. "Let's just take this a week at a time for now. I'll spend the nights here this week, Nymphadora. But I need time with Sirius too. I'll work out of his studio apartment during the days and I'd like to spend Saturday with him. Teddy doesn't have any activities, does he?"

"He doesn't," she replied quietly.

"Will that work for both of you?" There was silence but two nodding heads. "Loves, I think that we should probably call it a night. We still have a lot to talk about, but I think that it's safe to say that we're all a bit emotionally drained. Maybe we can meet up again on Sunday for dinner and then a discussion after Teddy goes to bed."

"Okay," Nymphadora responded, her exhaustion evident. "Are you going to drop him off right now?"

"Yes," he replied with a yawn. "I'll be back, but don't wait up for me if you're tired."

Sirius didn't say anything, his face a completely blank slate. Remus felt his anxiety clawing at his insides; he had never seen Sirius like this before and he was scared that it meant Sirius didn't want to go through this trouble. And why should he? He was a young and very attractive man who could probably have a long line of lovers waiting on him hand and foot. Why would he want to be with a stodgy old man who could barely keep up with the emotional needs of his wife and child. Sirius didn't deserve this. 

His hand was shaking as he plucked the car keys off the counter and he gave Nymphadora a shaky smile. He saw a shift of emotions in her eyes and he looked away and led Sirius out of the house and towards the car. They rode in silence all the way to Sirius' apartment and the whole time Remus tried to brace himself for the inevitable break-up. He was too much for Sirius to want to deal with, he just knew it.

The black-haired boy had run away from family drama and was on the cusp of his beautiful life. He was talented, gorgeous, loving, fun - he could do anything and be with anyone. Now that he was working some and had a scholarship to cover his education it wasn't like he _needed_ Remus. If he ever wanted more money he could find someone else to be a Sugar Daddy. Sirius had laughingly showed him messages he had received on Instagram of offers from others. Remus was nothing special. He wasn't even a great Sugar Daddy. He couldn't afford to lavish all kinds of treats on the boy. Couldn't buy him a car or a whole new wardrobe each season. In fact, he bought Sirius the generic brand of items any chance he could to be economical. 

Pulling into the driveway, Remus turned off the headlights and shut off the engine. If he was going to be broken up with, he would rather it be a face-to-face discussion than a quick drop off. He could feel the hot burn of tears in his eyes. 

"It's okay," he whispered while clenching the steering wheel tightly with his hands. "If you want to move on, I mean. It's okay. I just want you to be happy. And I knew that I bring a lot of baggage. I don't want to hold you back."

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Sirius turning to face him. "Why would you think that I wanted to move on?" The words were spoken with a kind of flatness that he wasn't used to hearing from his boyfriend and it hurt. He deserved it. It was all his fault.

"I know that this is a lot," he replied miserably. "It doesn't make sense for you to stay with me, not when you can have anyone that you want. I'm trying to be what you deserve, but I'm just...me."

A warm hand reached over and rested over his white-knuckled grip. Finally forcing himself to look Sirius in the eye, Remus was distressed to see the red-rimmed eyes and the tear tracks on the otherwise perfectly impassive face. 

"I...I've shut off my feelings," Sirius whispered, his grey eyes unusually empty. Usually he could see a myriad of thoughts and emotions swirling behind those precious gems and now the emptiness only made him ache even more. "It's something that I do. I'm sorry. I can't help you feel better."

"Don't worry about me, love," Remus soothed, still wanting to protect this precious being. "I'm so sorry that I did this to you. I love you and I only want the best for you. I'm just a horridly selfish wretch."

Sirius stared down at his knees. "I guess that I'll just go in. Thanks for the ride."

Panic welled in Remus. He needed to fix this somehow! Even if they were breaking up, he couldn't leave Sirius alone and dejected like this. He couldn't go home to Nymphadora and know that Sirius was hurting so badly that he turned everything off. What if this was the last time he saw Sirius? What if he came by in the morning to find no one? His selfishness reared up again and his clammy hand squeezed Sirius' elbow. 

"Can I come in?" he asked desperately. "Can I make love to you? I understand if you don't want to, and please don't feel obliged or anything. I don't want to hurt you anymore, love."

"Don't you have to go back?" Sirius muttered, still keeping his eyes on his knees.

"Yes, but that can wait for a little longer."

They sat in the quiet car for a few breaths before Sirius nodded. No words were exchanged as the door was unlocked and they stepped into the neat space. It had been a couple of weeks since he had last stepped into the studio apartment but it looked much the same. Midterm exams has just been completed, notes from all his classes still spread out on the sofa. The light scent of grapefruit and bergamot from the essential oil diffuser still hung in the air. They moved towards the corner where his bed was and Remus choked back on a sob. How many hours had they spent together on that bed? And not just making love. How many hours of cuddling while watching some show on the laptop or talking about anything or even lying next to each other while Sirius did his social media stuff and Remus read a book. He was going to miss all of it. Every moment with this boy, from the first to the last.

His trembling fingers dug into the lush expanse of inky hair and his lips crashed over Sirius'. The need to absolutely consume the young man in his arms was almost overwhelming, and he felt lightheaded with the exertion he put forward into their kiss. It was hungry and needy and full of all the desperation he felt. Their clothes came off in quick, well-practiced motions and he was soon draped against the younger man, chest to chest and legs entangled. Remus tried to pour every ounce of his love into the desperate open-mouthed kisses along those jutting collarbones and his hands worshiped every inch of skin they could claw at. He hated how this body he was so familiar with felt differently, hated how those lips that were always so eagerly parted in loud gasps and exclamations was pressed shut in an effort to keep quiet. 

Desperately he wanted to bury himself into the body beneath him. He wanted to make love for hours, never tiring and only feeling the euphoria of their connection. But no sooner did he slide a finger along the hot cleft then he felt the rush of tears and grief. He wrapped his arms around Sirius' waist instead and sobbed. He was a despicable man. There were no words that he could force out to express just how much he loved Sirius and wanted to stay with him. And even if his exhausted brain could come up with the words, he didn't think that he could say them. Sirius didn't need to feel guilty for leaving this relationship. It had never been a fair one to him, and Remus couldn't keep turning a blind eye to it. Foolish, foolish man. He should have just helped the boy financially and kept their hearts protected from this hurt.

By the time he stepped into his bedroom an hour later, Remus didn't have the energy or desire to hide his red-rimmed eyes. Nymphadora was playing a game on her phone and she didn't look up as he got into his pajamas. He collapsed heavily next to her and stared up at the ceiling. It had probably been the day of his mother's funeral when he had last cried this hard and he felt a numbing emptiness. 

"Remus?" she asked quietly. She was looking at his splotchy face and he just shook his head. He couldn't deal with any more conversations. "Okay. Good night."

Remus didn't think that he'd ever have a good night again.

**

Not getting much sleep between fitful dreams, Remus was up earlier than usual and took the opportunity to make breakfast. He wasn't very good at it, but Nymphadora had always appreciated the efforts he went through. She too got up earlier than usual and they sat quietly at the kitchen table as they ate the scrambled eggs and beans on toast. There was no Teddy to rush off to daycare but she would have to head off to work in a couple of hours. Honestly, Remus didn't think he could get any work done. He fully intended on hiding under the covers and wishing that he wasn't really there at all. Maybe he could play a Lord of the Rings marathon. Extended versions only, of course. 

"Remus?"

She was looking at him worriedly but he still didn't know if he could talk about last night. He didn't want to say the words out loud. He didn't want to accept the reality of losing a portion of his heart. 

Her hand rested over his and for the first time he realized that he had smooshed his beans straight through the crunchy toast. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

"Hon, you're looking like hell," she tried softly. "Did something happen with Sirius?"

He was shaking his head, but it was more an attempt to deny what was happening rather than denying that anything happened.

"It's..." Remus caught sight of his notebook from their discussion the previous evening and he felt another wave of despair. "You don't have to w-worry about it anymore," he whispered, feeling the dry burn of his eyes. "All of this. All of me. I'm sorry, love. I won't do this again."

It would be unfair to tell her that losing Sirius was breaking his heart so badly that he honestly couldn't think of ever opening himself up again. If he hadn't been married and shared a child with Nymphadora, he might have just called quits on all relationships. Being alone would be preferable to this torment of finding himself and then having that part of him carved away with a butcher's knife. To know that he had so much love to give to others and couldn't. He just needed to be the person he had always been before. Cautious, curious, detached. Getting attached only hurt.

Nymphadora squeezed his hand in a comforting gesture, but he pulled away and wiped at his eyes. He tossed his mostly full plate into the sink and went straight into the bedroom where he curled up under the covers and futilely tried to get some sleep. The sounds of his wife tidying up and preparing for work was a dull background noise. After getting dressed for her administrative position at her father's private eye firm she rubbed comforting hands over his legs and then he heard her fumble with the modest television in their room that they almost never used. Familiar orchestral music floated through the air and a smile struggled on his lips. She had accidentally put in _The Two Towers_ rather than _The Fellowship of the Ring_ but the fact that she had picked out a _Lord of the Rings_ movie warmed his heart. Nymphadora had never much cared for fantasy or sci-fi movies, but she had always paid attention to Remus' ramblings and humored him to the occasional midnight showing or special book signings. And when he fell into a deep funk she had always been good to remember to put on his comfort movies. 

"I'll see you later tonight, okay?"

He didn't respond, but she patted his leg anyway before stepping out. 

**

Somehow during the Battle of Gondor Remus had drifted off into sleep. It was full of anxious dreams, but his body was exhausted and forced him to stay asleep. The sunlight was already fading when he felt a warm body press up against his backside. Fingers softly played with the curls at the nape of his neck, dancing along his warm skin. Shame rose in Remus as wakefulness claimed more of his mind. He was a 38 year old man with a family that needed him and here he was lying in bed and moping like a love sick teenager.

Nymphadora was so good to him, even in this circumstance. She had been so gracious to even talk about Remus being in a polyamorous relationship even after he had been the one to abuse her trust and now here she was taking care of his depressed and angsty self. He should be comforting her! Begging her continued forgiveness and worshiping her as the goddess she was and always had been. What was a broken heart? Remus shuddered to think of the look his father would send his way if he had been alive to hear of Remus moping around. 

"Please forgive me," he muttered, voice still thick with sleep. He hadn't moved at all during the day with the exception of switching DVDs and a bathroom break. 

A weight settled in front of him and Remus opened his eyes to be surprised with the soft chocolate brown of his wife. "We're all going to have to get used to saying that. And accepting that. Apologies, I mean."

Confused, he blinked rapidly for a few seconds before turning to look over his shoulder at the body that was still pressed against him. Dark hair and pale skin met his vision and Remus couldn't help the surprised little sob that he choked back down.

"I'm sorry too," Sirius replied, his arm wrapping around the older man's waist. "I don't want to go anywhere else, Remus. If you'll still have me."

"Of c-course!" he responded hastily, still half-scared that Sirius would decide to back off. "How did you-"

"I hunted him down, of course," Nymphadora chuckled. 

Sirius grinned fondly. "She did. And gave me a royal chewing out too."

"But don't worry," she added before Remus could get upset, "he gives as good as he gets. It was actually pretty cathartic to let it all out."

"Although James might be a little traumatized," Sirius teased. "I think we owe him some chocolate or something."

"Of course," Remus responded airily. He couldn't believe that this was actually happening! Sirius and Nymphadora were smiling at him and at each other! "But...are you really okay with each other? And the...situation?"

"We're willing to try," Sirius agreed. "Like she said yesterday, we've just got to head into this knowing that we're going to butt heads until we figure out what works best for us."

"And like you said," she added, "we're going to try to take it a week at a time."

Remus looked between his two loves and felt the unusual swell of love and affection. They were doing this for _him._ For plain, boring Remus. 

"We brought some pizza for dinner," Sirius muttered happily against Remus' cheek. "I'll go set the table, okay?"

With a soft kiss to the stubbled cheek, Sirius bounced out of the room. Remus watched his retreating figure in awe and then turned to face his pleased wife. 

"Nymphadora..." He didn't know what to say. The woman nestled in front of him with a smug expression was an absolute goddess. "You're amazing."

"Why thank you," she chirped before laughing and kissing his nose.

"I don't know why you put up with me," he mumbled earnestly and she shook her head in fond exasperation. 

"Remus, I love you." Her eyes were glittering with affection. "I know that you refuse to believe it, but I really do. And I want you to be happy. I'm not always going to behave in the best way or deal with Sirius like I ought to, but I'm going to try because of what he means to you." She stroked his cheek with her soft hands. "It was good for the two of us to hash some things out without you there. We could be totally honest, brutal even. But that meant that I could see how much he cares about you. I wouldn't tolerate him if he was just using you."

"I don't know why I ever thought that not having you on my side was a good idea," he grinned with a shake of his head. 

"You're still in the dog house," she informed him with a huff before sticking her tongue out.

"Will it help if I eat you out every night this week?" he whispered into her ear with a teasing nip.

"You'll be on the right path," she giggled before pulling him into a smothering kiss.


End file.
